Nursing Student Pursues Dream Following Military Service

November 1, 2012

Lanina Goode has traveled the world, but she has found her dream at home.

The Greenwood native chose to join the military in 2000, enlisting in the Army reserves. Following the attacks on 9/11, she found herself deployed to Kuwait. When she returned to the States in 2003, she started searching for her passion.

“I worked as a substitute teacher for a while,” Goode said. “Then I attended Lander University.”

Goode earned two bachelor’s degrees from Lander – business administration with a concentration in health care management and exercise science. Her exercise science degree introduced her to the world of health care, and after several years spent in a 9 to 5 business job, she decided her real passion was in patient care.

“With the business degree, I was working in a cubicle eight hours a day,” she said. “I’m too much of a people person to be confined to a box.”

What Goode really wanted was to work directly with patients on a daily basis, so she enrolled in the associate degree nursing program at Piedmont Technical College.

Upon graduation, she would like to pursue her BSN and then possibly enlist full time in the military. Goode hasn’t determined her specialty, but said she feels like no matter what area of health care she enters, this is her calling and this is what she is supposed to do.

“I am doing what I enjoy,” said Goode. “Taking care of people comes naturally to me.”

Helping people has become her calling at Piedmont Tech. She serves as a Presidential Ambassador where she assists prospective students and works in the community as a representative of the college. She also tutors biology. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Lambda Chi Nu and serves as treasurer for the Student Nursing Association.

Goode’s advice to students looking to continue their education is to weigh their options and find what will be the best fit for them.

“With Piedmont Tech, it’s like a family here,” she said. “You get to know the faculty and staff and that makes you feel more comfortable about going to school. When you feel comfortable, it tends to show in your study habits and your grades. When that happens, you graduate and you can succeed in your chosen career.”